The Board denied the appellant's claims for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, and for accrued benefits. The claim for nonservice-connected death pension benefits was also denied due to the veteran not having qualifying service.
The deciding factor: The submitted evidence did not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating any of the claims.
- Claimed conditions
- hepatoma
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 21, 2008
- Citation
- 0805920
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0805920.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's liver cancer, which caused his death in August 1997, is presumed to have been incurred due to exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune during service. Therefore, the cause of the Veteran’s death is granted as service-connected.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for a VA medical opinion to determine if the Veteran's hepatoma is etiologically related to service, including presumed herbicide exposure and exposure to hepatitis B.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's death was caused by cardiorespiratory arrest due to hepatoma, and the Board finds no service connection is warranted for either condition.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's death was not caused by any service-connected disability, and the criteria for DIC based on service connection for cause of death are not met. The appellant's claim for recognition as a former POW is denied due to lack of supporting evidence from the service department.
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